Table Of ContentHe is a Lycan Prince sworn to protect his people. She is a
warrior woman who fights with silver.
Prince Vasilis does not believe there is one true mate for
every werewolf. Yet, he begins to wonder if he is bedding
two, three wenches at a time to quench his mounting
hunger, a lust he cannot sate, or because the legend is true,
that his time to mate has come. Is there one woman destined
to be his? One woman for all eternity who can satisfy his
relentless hunger? No. The human woman he needs does not
exist. His mate must be brave, strong, fear nothing and have
more fire in her veins than all his Lycan guards combined.
Alexandra is on a mission. She must wed the prince to
save her little sister‟s life. The fates conspire and bring her to
him, but on first sight she tries to kill him. She is a beautiful
warrior woman who makes men stop dead in their tracks,
who fears nothing and no one, who above all, will not fall
under the prince‟s seductive, sensual spell.
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Lycan Prince
Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Maltezos
ISBN: 978-1-77111-016-7
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the
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Published by Devine Destinies
An imprint of eXtasy Books
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Lycan Prince
By
Anastasia Maltezos
To Georgia and Louie.
Chapter One
“A
blasted contest! He has finally lost his mind.”
“The king only wants to help you find your soul
mate. He knows your time to mate has come.”
Vasilis shot his chief guard a menacing look. “I don‟t
question his motives. It‟s his methods I doubt.” He growled
as another wave of anger shot through him. “Having women
throughout the land compete for my hand in marriage is not
what I had in mind when the time came for me to choose a
bride.”
“Your Highness, you also need to start thinking of an
heir.”
Vasilis grimaced and took another swig of ale. “I have
avoided silver for two hundred years, my friend. I can do it
for another two hundred. Right now, I have bigger things to
worry about like that damn contest.”
“Running away is not the answer.”
Vasilis shot him a glare, his dark gaze narrowing with a
silent warning. “Know your place, Malek.” Almost
immediately, guilt dampened his ire. Malek was not only his
chief guard, he was also his trusted friend for over two
hundred years.
“I haven‟t run away,” Vasilis said. “Look around you. I
have twenty guards with me at this camp. Our caravan got
the royal send off when we left. If I ran away, I wouldn‟t
have surrounded myself with a fleet of Lycan warriors.”
“You know your father would have never allowed you to
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take this trip alone. Your safety is his primary concern. As
for the contest, His Highness knows the kind of woman who
will make you happy. That is why the contest he devised
will crown the woman with all the qualities you seek in a
mate.”
Vasilis shot Malek a dark frown. “Have you seen the
royal parchment, my friend? He planned an event where the
women must hit a target with a bow and arrow more than
two hundred paces away. And what of the hand to hand
combat he devised for the remaining competitors? I won‟t be
surprised if these women get hurt.”
“The king wants the perfect human woman for you,”
Malek said. “The woman you marry may not choose to turn,
therefore she must rely on her human strength and skills to
defend herself.”
“Be that as it may, this Amazon my father perceives as my
soul mate does not exist, my loyal friend.” Vasilis leaned
back against the boulder and looked up into the night sky,
releasing a heavy sigh. “Let us have some more ale and
forget that damn contest for now.”
Vasilis took a swig of ale, feeling a stir in his loins.
Dammit. His sexual appetite was increasing and he began to
wonder if his father was right, that his time to mate was
here. Vasilis grimaced. No, he couldn‟t believe there was one
woman to sate his appetite, one woman for all eternity.
He had been with three women on their last stop a few
days ago and they hadn‟t been able to sate his lust. He
wondered how far into the next village they would be before
he could relieve himself of his damn tension.
He leaned back on the boulder and stared up at the nearly
full moon, his mouth thinning. Vasilis knew what he had to
do. Upon his return home, he was going to tell his father to
cancel the contest.
As for his mounting, insatiable lust, he would have to
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make do with the temporary relief he found from his willing
bed mates.
If there was one thing Vasilis knew, it was women. They
were predictable, weak and needed a man in their lives to
protect them.
* * * *
Alexandra kneed the bandit in the groin and reached into
the waistband of her trousers for her dagger. She heard her
little sister scream from behind the boulder where she hid.
The bandit groaned and doubled over in pain as she
plunged her dagger deep into his back.
“Ariel!” she yelled hoarsely, exhausted from having
defeated two out of the four bandits who had swarmed into
their meagre campsite some fifteen minutes earlier.
“Alex, help me! There‟s a bad man here!”
Alexandra‟s fear rose, her heart tight in her breast as she
fought the third bandit. “Bastard! You‟ll die a painful death
if you harm one hair on her head,” she yelled over her
shoulder.
The third bandit punched her in the face and pain
exploded on her jaw as she went flying to the ground. She
grimaced and swiped a leg at the back of his ankles,
tumbling him to the ground. She sprung onto his stunned
body and thrust the dagger deep into his gut.
Alexandra felt no remorse. These bandits had only one
thing on their minds, to kill and rob them. That was the way
in these parts of the mountains, the reason no one travelled
here.
But Alexandra hadn‟t had much of a choice. It was the
shortest route to King Drago‟s kingdom and she had to win
the royal contest. Her little sister‟s life depended on it.
Alexandra killed the fourth and final bandit with a sharp
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Lycan Prince
arrow shot straight through his heart. Ariel cried as she ran
into her sister‟s outstretched arms and Alexandra moved her
hands quickly over her little body, checking for wounds.
There were none and she thanked the gods above. She
gathered her six-year-old sister into her arms and hugged
her tight.
“I‟m sorry I brought you here, but it‟s the shortest route.”
Ariel nodded numbly as she wiped her tears with a little
fist. “I knew you would save me.”
Alexandra kissed her on the forehead. “You know why
we have to go to the royal kingdom.”
“Yes. You‟re going to win the Royal Contest, marry the
prince and have enough gold to find the best healer to make
me better.”
Alexandra tried to smile as she looked at the shadows
under Ariel‟s eyes. “That‟s right and you‟re going to grow
up big and strong and get married to a nice man and have a
wonderful life.”
Ariel nodded.
Alexandra could see she was fighting fresh tears. “What‟s
wrong? The danger‟s passed.”
Ariel‟s mouth quivered. “I was scared the bad men were
going to kill you and I would be all alone.”
Alexandra sat on the gravel and gathered her frail, little
sister onto her lap. “Come here,” she said gently.
“Remember one thing. I am never going to leave you. I‟m
always going to protect you and take care of you.”
First, she had to get them out of bandit area. She defeated
four men, but what if there were more? More men than she
was able to fight off? Worse, she kept thinking about the
Lycans hiding in the mountains, eight-foot tall beasts with
jowls and fangs who could rip a human in two. She‟d never
seen one and prayed they were a myth. She could fight off
four bandits, but she doubted she was strong enough to fight
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a monster.
Even warrior women had their limits.
* * * *
“This is bandit area, Your Highness. We have to take another
route,” Malek explained calmly.
“We have no danger from humans.”
“Humans carry silver, Your Highness. If we take another
route and don‟t stop at the next two villages, we will make it
back in time. We are already behind schedule.”
“The men will be tired. No. We will go through this
territory and make it back home within the week.”
“Very well, Your Highness. I will prepare the men.”
Vasilis flicked his reins, signalling his white steed to pick
up pace. He knew what his friend was thinking and knew
Malek would never voice his thoughts out loud. His loyalty
and respect were without question.
They were behind schedule because of those three
wenches Vasilis couldn‟t part with in the last village. In this
case, he‟d needed two extra days, delaying their arrival back
home.
Vasilis heard Malek issuing orders to the guards.
“We are going through bandit area. Keep your guard up.
Our kind in these parts come disguised in their human form.
They may appear as beggars, bandits, strays, but they are
dangerous. They all carry silver.”
They rode in silence until Ortega traveled back from the
head of the caravan and yelled, “I see something up ahead.
Halt.”
The caravan came to a standstill and Malek turned to
Vasilis. “Let me go see what it is.”
Vasilis nodded, his face stern. “Keep your guard.”
“It was an ambush,” yelled Ortega.
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